Celebrating the Small Moments by Trish Roberts

I ended my school year with a huge writing celebration for my students.  They were mostly proud of their “This I Believe”  essays because it made them think, reflect and write about something very personal. This writing assignment wasn’t quite planned, but my co-teacher and I knew that it would inspire and motivate our students.

My personal struggle with this assignment was that I hadn’t written my own “This I Believe” essay. This went against the most important writing rule I have: Never ask students to write something I haven’t written myself. However, we didn’t want to pass up this great writing opportunity that we knew would further develop our students as writers.

So, we went ahead with the assignment and had unbelievable, awesome results.  I never did find the time to write my own essay, but I promised myself I’d write it over the summer for the next school year!

Now’s the time to get back into the writing arena.

I’m not going to set unrealistic goals for myself this summer.  Let’s be honest, I’m not going to write the next bestseller or an interesting poetry anthology. So I won’t plan on setting my alarm clock to write at 6:00 a.m. every morning, or schedule four hours of writing time, or promise myself I’ll write 10 pages every day.

But I am going to write.  I’m enthusiastically jumping back into the writing arena; a place that I love, cherish and look forward to once again enter.  I’ll reflect and write my own I Believe essay.  Every day, I will bring my notebook wherever I go.  I’ll take notes.  I’ll write about the things I see, people I meet, and places I visit.  I’ll jot down pieces of interesting conversations I have or hear.  I’ll wonder and ask questions. I’ll write letters and send postcards.  But most importantly, I’ll be writing again and that is something to celebrate!



Trish Roberts has been a special education teacher in the Garden City School District for over twenty years. As a published author and co-teacher, she is passionate about creating, in all of her students, an excitement for living and learning.  She strives to foster their curiosity and enthusiasm, both inside and outside the classroom, through her love of reading and writing.  As a staff developer, Trish’s goal is to inspire and motivate other teachers by modeling activities and lessons that cultivate independent thinking and increase student engagement. During the summer, Trish enjoys traveling with her friends and family, gardening, bike riding and walking, reading & writing on the beach. You can find her on Twitter @Trishr85.